Clam clam clam

If you put me on the spot and asked me to name the thing I like most in the world it would be quite easy; FOOD! Since Boston Jenna and I have talked non-stop about clam chowder (massive exaggeration about the non-stopness cos that would make us rather weird but you get the picture). Anyway this weekend we finally got around to making (or trying to make) our own clam chowder. I got really freaked out by the clams, they look like baby brains and clam juice is possibly the most disgusting thing in the world (it's bright green/blue and smelly). The result....no food poisoning (yes I know what you were thinking), it was massively filling and delicious despite the strange ingredients!!!

One thing ticked off the "must do before we leave Montreal" list, lots to go!

Sunshine

So this one time my mum was beaten by a one armed lady in a tennis match. Yesterday I was overtaken on a ski slope by a man with two fake legs! Yes we are a family of extremely high over achievers ;-)

Yesterday's ski Saturday took us back to heaven (aka Mont Tremblant). This being the place I learnt to ski, I subsequently can't get enough of it. It was always going to be a strange day due to the weather forecast but I never imagined it quite like this! IT WAS 14 DEGREES ON THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN!!!!! The first time I skied there it was -34 and now it decides to go bleeding tropical on us! I skied in a t-shirt which for me was a totally foreign concept as normally I live in THE coldest country on earth. However it appears (for now) that summer has arrived. I find this rather ironic as at weekend the UK was covered in snow after freak April snow storms - maybe the snow is trying to follow me home?

Skiing was great although the conditions were really weird - it was sooooooooo slushy and wet because of the sunshine. However then came my kamikaze mission of skiing down a piste with only one ski! I don't really know what happened...maybe my boot wasn't correctly clicked in but anyway the next thing I know I'm flying down this mountain on one ski and then I'm in a heap at the bottom surrounded by first aiders. On the way down I'd managed to lose my other ski and ski paraphanelia like my gloves, goggles and glasses. Needless to say it hurt, A LOT, and I am now sitting here writing this as the official medial description of a cripple! My leg is black and bruised and I have to turn my whole body round if I want to look at something behind or next to me as I cannot turn my head ohh and I'm sporting a seriously sexy limp.

After such an amazing day it's hard to imagine not being able to go back however the season is basically over and conditions will only get worse with the sunshine. We did attempt some apres ski afterwards, however it appeared that our defition of partying was lying on Jenna's sofa watching cage fighting drinking coke. Nice times nice times!!!

La vie

I really start to wonder about my life when an average week entails going to a drag queen club, singing a solo in a gay karaoke bar, drinking the March supply of Montreal's Molson beer, wearing sun glasses at night and not making it into bed every night before 4am. Then I remember that I live in the most amazing city on planet earth and why would an average week be any different ;-)

Tuesday was probably the last Cafe Campus I'll EVER go to (sobsobsob). Work is increasing dramatically and exams are looming so the reality of Tuesday nights spent in a retro 80's night club are diminishing. However I hope it's not really the last Cafe Campus in my whole life because obviously Jenna and I will be making a yearly trip to mecca (Montreal) when we return home in June.

Then Bianca joined the old folks (ie Lorna) in turning 22 on Thursday. She has exactly 3 days left before she finds her first grey hair and life as she knows it ends. However we celebrated in style with a night of fried chicken at St Hubert, drag queens at Cafe Cleopatra and karaoke in the Village. The drag queens were wicked (as usual) and as the guys struggled to know where to look, Bianca speculated on where exactly "she" had placed her you know what. They did all the usual Celine classics and vamped it up to the max ohhhh and there was also an emotional rendition of Bleeding Love (just for Jenna). Then at karaoke, Bianca did her usual amazing rendition of All By Myself (eat your heart out Bridget Jones) fully complemented with squats and an emotional eyes closed moment, and I had my solo karaoke debut singing a bit of ABBA's Gimme Gimme Gimme. We ended up home at 4am and understandably that didn't agree terrible well with my 8am CSR class.

This weekend is probably going to be the last Ski Saturday this winter because (are you ready for it...............) MONTREAL IS WARMING UP!!! This past week has almost been pleasurable, I've warn something other than my ski jacket for the first time since November and yes it's not exactly hot (maybe around 3 degrees) but it's still a dam sight warmer than January's -20 temperatures. Here is to bikini's next weekend :-D xxx

Viva Las Vegas

My amazingly connected roommate, Rhi, has managed to get Jenna and I free tickets to LOVE, a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas which is based on the Beatles music. Normal ticket prices are over $100 each which means we're saving a small fortune and also I get the opportunity to see a show that I've wanted to see since its creation in 2005 to commemorate the legacy of the Beatles. Rhi is not a Mafia member (popular to contrary belief) she just happens to work for the circus hence why she was able to wangle us some free tickets. Also getting to watch a Cirque du Soleil production is really something we have to experience having been in Quebec for all this time because in fact the circus was born in Baie-Saint Paul in 1984 and is a Montreal institution. VIVA LAS VEGAS

You say "APRES" I say "SKI"

We had a great ski day in Vermont hier although I just didn't feel as comfortable as I did at Mont Tremblant. I like to know what's coming up so I know when I can go really fast or slow down because I know that death is imminent. But I can't just ski in the same place for the next 40 years and the new variety of pistes was nice. I had a very village period when I fell over about 30 times in the space of 100 metres, for some reason I just kept forgetting I had to turn!!! I would like to say that this was right at the start of the day however I was right at the end after I'd skied perfectly well for the previous 6 hours!! The conditions were pretty good although it was unbelievably windy on one side of the mountain and also it was sooooo much colder than Montreal; even though spring has arrived we are still buried deep under snow and -18 ski temps shocked us because we thought we'd had the worst of the weather this winter. I tried a glade piste for the first time (skiing through the forest) however it's sooooo much extra work than a normal piste due to the added hazard of a few hundred trees being in the way.

Apres ski got a bit wild last night with a pre party at Jenna's followed by the club "Thursdays." I'd love to tell you what happened but I don't have a clue!!! Needless to say I don't think all the shooters Amin and Hugo made me do in the apartment were a good idea, or attempting to down all the beer because we had to leave Jenna's apartment to go to the club or then the shooters we did when we got club... Anyway we ended up at La Banquise, the most famous poutine restaurant in Montreal which boasts over 200 varieties of poutine (I think...) yet I still settled for the classic version (I know what I like). Then the poutine worked is magic and even though I got in at 5.30 basically unable to function I feel fine(ish) today.

Ski Saturday next week takes us to Mont Bromont (in southern Quebec) for hopefully another amazing day and evening lash. Schoop Schoop Schooppppppppp

Ski ski ski

Ski Saturday's continue with a trip to Jay Peak in Vermont planned for this weekend. Not only does it mean another stamp in my passport ;-) but also the opportunity to maybe potentially do a black piste but purposefully this time!!! Until then I continue to procrastinate to an amazingly high level; Jenna and I booked all our transport for the big trip, I've been watching the film Juno on rerun BECAUSE IT'S AMAZING and I've developped a strange love for dried fruit. Yummmmmmm dried fruit :-D

Time

I just realised I only have 37 days left in Montreal; so little time and so much to do before I can leave. I really love this city and even though I am sooooooo excited about the imminent west coast adventure with Jenna, I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye.....

Subsequently us Brits have compiled a list of places to see and things to do before we leave:

• Go to Mado (a drag queen cabaret club in the Village)
• Do a black run on ski Saturdays
• Eat at Le Circle (the posh restaurant at HEC)
• Go to one of the many jazz clubs on St Denis
• Go to marché Atwater and work out if it's better than marché Jean Talon
• Eat at the peruvian restaurants on St Hubert
• Explore the Old Port (apparently it's good for other things than just romantical ice skating)
• Go to Schwartz's for smoked meat sarnies
• Visit the island to see the Grand Prix track, the biosphere and the casino (prep for Las Vegas!!!)
• Make clam chowder
• Eat poutine at La Banquise

Let the tourism commence.

Chocolate

After a lazy week I find myself back in Trois-Rivieres celebrating Easter at Gen's house. The snow here is amazing and I've never seen anything quite like it - houses are masked behind snow banks that are two stories high and any landmark I might have recognised from my previous visits is either buried or the Easter Bunny stole it. As usual I'm managing to eat enough for a small family, however as Bianca and I embark on a swimathon (30 laps of the uni pool daily) I don't feel that guilty.

After a painful and traumatic lent, tomorrow I finally get to eat chocolate! 40 days and 40 nights (without Josh Harnett) of hell with only one slip up which is entirely blamed on Naomi Jones for sending me a bucket of chocolate brownies for my birthday. (However I told myself it didn't count as they were brownies and not solid chocolate.) Gen stocked up by purchasing me a tub of Ben and Jerry's and also a trip to the chocolaterie has been promised :-D

Sooooooooo Happy Easter and all that's left to say is bring on self-indulged obesity:

It has been announced...

The best night of the HEChange calendar year has been announced. Prepare to get drunk and party like its 1999!

Llama!!!

The GREATEST weekend of my life!

Okay so on paper this weekend was always going to be epic however it turned out to be even better than we had ever imagined.

Friday night was the belated 21st/22nd birthday party for Jen and I at a kooky Quebecois bar called Les Deux Pierrots. Live music, shooters, beer, amazing company and crazy dancing all contributed to a wicked night of exchange student lovin'. It was made even better by the fact Marie and Ulrike, the best two exchange students from Denmark ever are staying for the week having returned home at Christmas.

On Saturday we travelled up to Mont Tremblant after 3 hours sleep for a day's R&R on the slopes. I was seriously apprehensive about skiing after my first encounter was now months ago and I thought I had forgotten everything those 3 days had taught me. Bianca was in a similar situation after her last ski was over 2 years ago. How wrong I was!!! After a wobbly start (I fell over before I'd even got my left ski on) we dominated the slopes moving quickly from our green slope comfort zone onto blue's, moguls, and a bit of a black (an accident but totally worth the buzzzzz). Amazed at how much we had improved the day was immense as we zoomed seemingly fearless down the slopes and as usual I was on a kamikaze mission to take in as many jumps and ridges as possible which resulted in some hilarious falls recreated by Bianca behind me. We accidentally took a mogul piste (they are the crazy little mountainous bumps that cover the entire slope) which turned out to be hilarious ohhh and then I accidental dropped my glove off the ski lift which meant I had to hike 200 metres up an off-piste slope to retrieve my red mitten much to the hilarity of Jenna and Bianca when I couldn't stop on my way back down.

(the quest for the lost glove)

Then Sunday was another HEChange day with a visit to a traditional Quebecois sugar shack (or cabane a sucre) at St-Roch-Sur-Richelieu. A sugar shack is where they make the maple syrup Canada is soooooo famous for and then in winter they have massive feast days where you can go and eat as much as you want but all the food contains or is covered in maple syrup. We stuffed ourselves with traditional dishes like creton quebecois, beaver tails and tart au sucre until we could barely move. However the real fun happened outside when we made our syrup lollies; basically they poor warm syrup all over the snow and you get a lolly stick and roll it in the syrup until you have your own lolly. They taste kinda grose, just like pure sugar however we couldn't get enough and before we knew it Bianca, Jen and I were sugar drunk and hysterical like 5-year-old's who have eaten too many orange chocolate Smarties. To make the day even better they had A LLLLLAMA which I petted uncontrollably for about an hour ohh and it ate half of Bianca's hair as she posed for photos thinking it was dinner. Then Bianca an I got married in a simple civil ceremony in the snow in a wood. Returning back to Montreal was hilarious as Bianca made an amazing impression on the exchange students by demanding they stop the bus as she was about to wet herself. Then the night continued with some unusual St Patrick's Day celebrations bringing us back round to another week of school and deadlines.

Madnessssssss

This weekend is looking to be a complete blast. The two greatest Danes in the world are back in Montreal for the week, its THE birthday party tonight followed by Saturday skiing at Mont Tremblant, Sunday at the Sugar Shack then a massive dinner party on Monday. Nice times nice times.

SB photos :-)

SPRING BREAK

Okay so I need a holiday to recover from my holiday. I swear my skin is green and my liver is complaining to a serious degree but my god was it worth it ;-). The destination was Panama City Beach, Florida, with 2 buses of HEC students. The mission was drunken debauchery and extreme party times.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN I WOULD LIKE TO BE THE FIRST TO INFORM YOU THAT THE MISSION WAS SUCESSFULLY ACHIEVED!!!

To be fair there isn’t much I can tell you that cannot be explained by a few superb photos however the main ingredients of a successful Spring Break are; beach, sea, alcohol, stupid Americans, Taco Bell, mini golf, werid HEC chants and songs in French, the ability to go without sleep and proper nutrition ohh and the ability forego your dignity. Tabernac!!!

Jenna got so drunk one night she kissed a wooden pole thinking it was a man. On the same night she also ended up with a black eye, swollen eyebrow, cut shoulder, smashed knee and hole in her jeans (I don’t think the pole agreed to her trying to kiss it). Then Matt got kicked out of every club we went to for being under 21 and now has permanent marker X’s tattooed onto his hands forever more. However if I told you any more I fear I may have to kill you because as the saying goes;

WHAT HAPPENS ON SPRING BREAK STAYS ON SPRING BREAK!

It’s now back to the slavery that is school and the tons of work they like to pile on poor unsuspecting exchange students. C’est la vie mais la vie est bloody belle. A bientôt. xx

I like the ladies

Soooo I had a lovely birthday meal with the girls (Dawn, Scarl, Bianca and Jen) on Thursday followed by cocktails at Jello (a bar lit only by lava lamps). We went to Nuevo, this amazing tapas restaurant on Mont Royal and the food was SOOOOOOOOO good, sometimes I can't believe how much I eat over here! Some lovely pressis from the family and the girls (thanks lots and lots), ice skating at Parc La Fontaine and some retail therapy = a nice day all round. The real party takes place on March 14th when Jenna and I are having our joint birthday extravaganza at the Quebecois bar Les Deux Pierrots (we had to postpone because of midterms and spring break) so you're welcome to come however I think for some it might be a little tooooo far.

Then last night we took advantage of Bianca's Lonely Planet guide book and did Montreal the way the experts tell you to. Lesbianism was the theme as we embarked on our night out in The Village (the gay quarter). 2 litres of wine, karaoke, and a 7 story gay bar equipped with in store hairdresser produced a wicked night of laughing, posing and debauchery. Needless to say I fell a little rough today and I am left with the eternal horror of the below video (yes that is me singing NOT someone murdering a cat).

I'M GOING TO FLORIDA TOMORROW FOR SPRING BREAK WHOOP WHOOP so I'll speak to you next when I'm tanned and full of gossip.